Tonight we had the honor of watching the Momenta String Quartet in an open rehearsal. Before they played, they talked about the piece they were going to be playing, Janacek’s String Quartet No. 1, also known as the Kreutzer Sonata. They told us that it is one of the few musical pieces to be based on a book (by Leo Tolstoy) which was based on a song (by Beethoven). I always love when art is meta and self-conscious, so I definitely thought that was very interesting. The artists also told us what to listen for in the piece, such as the sounds of trains and conversations. I found that incredibly helpful, and it gave me a whole new perspective as I listened to the music. I definitely felt like I was able to pick out conversations and envision a storyline throughout the piece. According to the artists, the piece does not tell the story linearly, but rather in fragments. As an English major, I really like the idea that Janacek decided to not be predictable and simply transcribe the story into the music event by event, but instead mix it up and keep the audience guessing as to which part was being conveyed.